Castiron alternatives for home bakers (2026): what happened and where to move

Castiron is no longer operating. Compare the best Castiron alternative types by fees and features, and follow a checklist to move your shop and customers.

By the Ajinto teamUpdated September 24, 2026Facts checked against MCL 289.4102 and MDARD on September 24, 20268 min read

The short answer

Castiron was acquired by T.D. Jakes Enterprises in November 2024, relaunched as Nourysh, and wound down in 2025.
Replacements fall into four types: percentage-fee drop platforms, flat-fee cottage food storefronts, general store builders, and social media plus payment apps.
Hotplate has no monthly fee; customers pay 5% + $0.55 at checkout and sellers pay 2.9% + $0.30 card processing.
Whatever you choose, make sure you can export your customer list and keep your own sales records.
Michigan cottage food sellers need a setup that sells only to Michigan buyers and offers in-person or video interaction before online sales.

If your Castiron shop stopped working, it's not you: Castiron is no longer operating. It was acquired in November 2024, relaunched as Nourysh, and wound down in 2025. The best replacement depends on how you sell: percentage-fee drop platforms, flat-fee cottage food storefronts, general store builders, or social media plus a payment app.

This guide explains what happened, what to look for in a replacement, how the main types of options compare, and how to move your shop without losing your customers. If you sell in Michigan, there's a section on the state rules your new setup needs to handle.

What happened to Castiron?

Castiron was an online storefront and ordering platform used by home bakers and cottage food makers. Here's the verified timeline:

November 2024: T.D. Jakes Enterprises acquired Castiron and announced it would relaunch the platform as Nourysh (PR Newswire announcement).
2025: the platform wound down.
As of September 2026: the old domains no longer operate. shopcastiron.com doesn't resolve, and castiron.me shows an unrelated site.

In practice, that means old shop links, bookmarked order pages and QR codes that pointed to Castiron won't bring customers to you anymore. If your link-in-bio, business cards or market signs still point there, those are the first things to fix.

What to look for in a Castiron replacement

Before you compare platforms, decide what matters for how you actually sell.

1. The fee model. Platforms charge in one of a few ways: a percentage of each order (paid by you, your customer, or both), a flat monthly subscription, or a mix. Card processing is usually charged on top. The right model depends on your volume: a percentage fee costs nothing when you don't sell, and a flat fee doesn't grow when you sell more.

2. A storefront you control. Can you set your own menu, photos, prices, pickup windows and policies? Do you get a link that's clearly yours?

3. A customer list you own. Castiron's closure is the lesson here. Make sure you can see and export customer names and contact details (with their permission to contact them) so you're never stuck if a platform changes again.

4. Pickup, delivery and shipping options. Scheduled pickup days, porch pickup, local delivery and shipping should all be possible if you use them.

5. Order management. Pre-orders and "drops," order limits per day, custom-order requests, deposits, and a clear list of what's due when.

6. Compliance features for your state. Cottage food laws vary by state. A platform built for general e-commerce won't know your state's rules, so you'll need to set them up yourself.

How the options compare

Here's an honest look at the four main types of Castiron alternatives. Fees are only quoted where we verified them on the company's own pricing page, as of September 2026.

Option type	Examples	How you pay	Strengths	Trade-offs
Percentage-fee drop platforms	Hotplate	No monthly subscription. Seller pays card processing of 2.9% + $0.30; customers see a 5% + $0.55 fee on their subtotal at checkout.	Nothing to pay in months you don't sell. Built around scheduled "drops," which suits bake-to-order sellers.	Customers pay more at checkout, and the fee grows with every order. Drop-based flow may not fit walk-up or custom-order businesses.
Flat-fee cottage food storefronts	MyPorch, Ajinto	A flat monthly subscription with no percentage of orders. MyPorch is free for your first 10 orders; Ajinto is $10 a month after a free trial. Card processing applies to card payments.	Predictable cost that doesn't grow with sales. Designed around home food businesses rather than general retail.	You pay the subscription in slow months too. Feature sets differ, so compare what each includes for your state.
General e-commerce builders	General-purpose online store builders (not reviewed here)	Varies; check each provider's current pricing page.	Typically flexible, with design and integration options.	Generally not built around cottage food rules. You'll configure labels, shipping limits and pickup yourself, and there's more to set up and maintain.
Social media plus a payment app	Instagram or Facebook posts with a payment app or invoice	Varies by payment app; check each app's terms for business use.	Fast to start and uses the audience you already have.	Orders live in DMs, which gets messy at volume. No real menu or order list, and you depend on each platform's rules.

A few fair notes:

Hotplate's customer fee is paid by buyers, not deducted from you. That keeps your payout simple, but your customers compare the total they pay. On a $20 order, the 5% + $0.55 fee adds $1.55.
Flat fees favor steady sellers. Divide the monthly fee by your typical monthly orders to see your per-order cost.
There's no single best platform. A seller doing one holiday drop a year and a seller with weekly bread pickups need different things.

Our guide on how to price baked goods walks through how each fee model changes your prices.

Why Michigan-specific features matter

If you sell cottage food in Michigan, your platform has to fit the state's rules, which changed on March 24, 2026. A general-purpose store builder doesn't know them, so it's on you to configure around them.

The rules that matter most for online selling:

Michigan buyers only. The law allows online, mail order and third-party delivery sales, but only to consumers in Michigan. A checkout that happily accepts an Ohio or Indiana shipping address can put you out of compliance with one order.
An opportunity to directly interact. Before an online sale, you must give the customer an opportunity to directly interact with you. The law says that includes a face-to-face meeting or a virtual meeting where both sides can see and hear each other, like a video call. Email or a contact form alone doesn't clearly meet that definition, so offer an in-person or live video option on your shop.
Labels before sale. Every product must be prepackaged and labeled, including the statement Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. in at least 11-point-equivalent type.
A sales cap. Gross sales can't exceed $50,000 a year, or $75,000 if you sell products priced at $250 or more per unit. MDARD can ask for documentation of your gross sales, so your platform's sales records need to be easy to pull.
Direct to consumer only. No wholesale and no consignment, and MDARD says farm stops and retail markets can't serve as pickup points for pre-sold orders.

Ajinto was built around these rules: a checkout that only accepts Michigan addresses, a contact and optional video-chat link on every shop, a label maker that prints the required statement, and a sales-cap tracker. Whichever platform you choose, check it against this list. For the details, see how to sell baked goods online in Michigan, Michigan cottage food shipping and delivery rules, and our full Michigan cottage food law guide.

Your Castiron migration checklist

You probably can't log in to your old Castiron dashboard anymore, so rebuild from what you have. Work through this in order.

Gather what you have

Search your email for Castiron order confirmations, payout notices and customer messages. They're your best record of past customers and what they ordered.
Pull customer contacts you already have from your phone, social media followers and messages, and any spreadsheet you kept. Only contact people who agreed to hear from you.
Check your payment processor account (if you connected one) for past transaction history you'll want for records.
Save any product photos you still have on your phone or computer.

Rebuild your menu

List every product with its name, price, size or weight, and description.
Re-cost each item before copying old prices. Ingredient costs have probably changed since you set them.
For Michigan sellers, re-check every product against MDARD's "What can I make?" list, and make sure every label meets current rules.
Set pickup days and windows, delivery area and fee, and shipping (Michigan only, for Michigan cottage food).
Write your order policies: payment timing, deposits for custom orders, cancellations, and no-shows.

Redirect your links

Update your link-in-bio on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Update your Google Business Profile, if you have one.
Replace QR codes on business cards, market signs, stickers and packaging inserts.
Update your email signature and any local directory listings.

Tell your customers

Send one short message: "My shop has moved. Here's the new link to order." Include your next pickup date.
Post the new link on every social account, and pin the post.
Mention it at your next market or pickup, and hand out a card with the new link.
Consider a small first-order thank-you (an extra cookie, not a permanent discount) to get regulars through the new checkout.

Protect yourself next time

Export your customer list on a regular schedule, whatever platform you use.
Keep your own sales records outside the platform, for taxes and, in Michigan, for the sales cap.
Use a link you control in your bio where possible, so you can point it somewhere new without reprinting everything.

A Michigan example

Picture a Traverse City jam maker who took pre-orders on Castiron for weekend pickup. After the shutdown, her Instagram link led nowhere. She rebuilds her six-item menu on a new storefront, adds a note offering a video call to anyone ordering online, limits shipping to Michigan addresses, and posts one pinned message with the new link. She keeps a spreadsheet of every order so her gross sales total is always ready if MDARD asks.

Frequently asked questions

Is Castiron still operating?

No. Castiron was acquired by T.D. Jakes Enterprises in November 2024, relaunched as Nourysh, and wound down in 2025. As of September 2026, its old domains no longer operate.

What is the best alternative to Castiron for home bakers?

It depends on how you sell. Occasional drop sellers may prefer a percentage-fee platform like Hotplate, steady weekly sellers may do better with a flat monthly fee, and sellers who want full design control may choose a general store builder. Michigan sellers should also check for Michigan-only checkout and a way to offer direct interaction.

What happened to Nourysh?

Nourysh was the relaunch of Castiron after T.D. Jakes Enterprises acquired it in November 2024. The platform wound down in 2025.

Can I recover my Castiron customer list?

If you can't access your old dashboard, rebuild from your email (order confirmations and messages), your payment processor's history, and your social media followers. Only contact customers who agreed to hear from you.

Do I need a special platform to sell cottage food online in Michigan?

No specific platform is required. Whatever you use must sell only to Michigan consumers, give buyers an opportunity to directly interact with you before the sale, and support compliant labeling and records.

This is general information, not legal advice. For Michigan edge cases, email MDARD at MDARD-CottageFood@michigan.gov with your ZIP code.

Sources

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules can change; confirm anything you're unsure about with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD-CottageFood@michigan.gov). Ajinto is not affiliated with MDARD or MSU. Spotted something out of date? Tell us at hello@ajinto.com.